Service of Process/ Summons and Complaint

The Office of Secretary of State, Corporations Division, will accept service of process under certain circumstances.

BUSINESS ENTITIES

For corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships and non-profit corporations formed in Washington State and for corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships and non-profit corporations formed outside Washington State and registered with the Corporations Division, our office will act as agent if the plaintiff has been unable to achieve service for one of the following reasons.

The registered agent refuses to accept service.

The registered agent is unavailable or cannot be located for service.

The registered agent has resigned and the entity has not appointed a new agent.

The out of state entity is inactive.

The out of state entity is not registered with the Secretary of State

In all cases, you must provide an Affidavit of Attempted Service or state in your cover letter the reason that you have been unable to achieve service on the entity through its’ registered agent. To serve our office, provide the following:

Cover letter stating the exact name and UBI number of the entity, the reason the agent cannot be served at the registered office address, two copies of all documents and the $50.00 filing fee. You must provide an address for unregistered out of state entities. Additional addresses for out of state entities are $50.00 each

NON RESIDENT MOTORISTS

For a non resident motorist or a resident motorist who cannot be located within the State, provide a cover letter stating the last known address (if known) and two copies of the documents. The filing fee is $50.00 per individual, per address, per marital community or per entity.